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Neighbourhood > Guest Character Profiles > Teresa Cammeniti Hannah Greenwood

Teresa Cammeniti 2006
Born: c. 1988
Parents: Raimondo
Children: Bonnie
Family Tree: Cammeniti

After falling pregnant at 17, and already too far along to have an abortion, frightened Teresa Cammeniti turned to her older cousin, Carmella, for help, worried about how her parents might react. At the time, Carmella was desperate for money, to help her ex-boyfriend Connor O’Neill pay medical bills in the hope that she could win him back from new girlfriend Serena Bishop. And so, when the baby was born, Carmella sold it to Charlotte Hingston and her husband for $100,000, splitting the money with Teresa. The plan to win back Connor failed and, overcome with guilt, Carmella sought refuge by becoming a nun, while Teresa grew increasingly depressed and cut herself off from her family, unable to talk about what had happened.

When Carmella’s guilt finally caught up with her, she was asked to leave the convent and consider her future. She decided to track down Teresa and make amends, but her cousin proved difficult to find, eventually turning up at Erinsborough Hospital, after being found unconscious in the car park. Carmella’s visit only served to make matters worse, however, as Teresa screamed at her to get out. Carmella said that she wanted to try and repair some of the damage she’d done, but Teresa told her that the only way to do that would be to steal the baby back from the Hingstons. Though not willing to stoop to those levels again, Carmella decided to visit Charlotte and try to convince her to allow Teresa access to her baby, but was left stunned after being informed that the baby had died three months earlier, and that they had written Teresa a letter, which she had clearly never received. Upon hearing the news, Teresa angrily threw Carmella out of her room but was distracted later when she overheard two of Carmella’s neighbours Dylan Timmins and Harold Bishop, discussing Harold’s pregnant granddaughter, Sky, and her difficult pregnancy.

Teresa then proceeded to press Carmella for information about Sky and her situation, before deciding that she would have a chat with her. When Sky was admitted, after fainting, it was discovered that she had hardly been eating, struggling to deal with her guilt over her secret that not Dylan, but his brother, Stingray, was the father of the child. Sky and Teresa ended up sharing a hospital room, where Teresa lied to Sky that she had a husband and a one-year-old baby, Bonnie, who was unable to come to the hospital since she had a weak immune system. When Dr Karl Kennedy then told Teresa that she was free to go home, she faked a collapse, leaving the staff confused, but forced to re-admit her to run more tests and find out what was wrong. Teresa then started talking to Sky about perhaps giving up her baby for adoption, if she felt unable to cope, and also managed to drive away Stingray, who had learnt that she was the father, after telling him that Sky would have preferred Dylan to be the dad.

Teresa’s plans seemed to be working, as Sky felt more and more vulnerable and isolated, but was still shocked when Teresa mentioned the possibility of adopting the baby herself. She later apologised, once again lying that she had been told that she couldn’t have any more children of her own, and didn’t want Bonnie to grow up as an only child. Sky was completely taken in by Teresa and her lies, but when Carmella started work as a hospital orderly and heard what had been happening, she broke the news to a stunned Sky that it was all lies. When confronted, Teresa broke down and admitted that she was just so lonely and made things up to get attention. Sky felt sorry for her and forgave her and, as her roommate slept, Teresa started talking to the unborn child, telling her that her mummy was here, waiting for her to arrive.

Meanwhile, Sky was still concerned about Stingray’s sudden disappearance, his lack of visits and no response when she phoned him, so she decided to leave the hospital and track him down. Teresa, who had since been admitted to the psychiatric ward, was stunned and followed her, only to find Sky in the park, having gone into premature labour after catching Dylan with her best friend, Elle Robinson, in a hotel room. Teresa raised the alarm and, at the hospital, she went crazy, accusing Sky of being an unfit mother and risking the health of her baby. Teresa was quickly restrained and taken back to the psych ward but quietly slipped away, and headed to Ramsay Street, where she stole Carmella’s orderly uniform, in order to get back onto Sky’s ward and see “her” baby. Once there, she spotted a lighter and decided that the best way to create a distraction was to start a fire, which quickly spread, causing the entire hospital wing to be evacuated. Since Sky was in the final stages of labour, the doctors decided not to move her until the baby was born, at which point they were all rushed out of the hospital.

A few hours later, after being checked over, Sky was taken to another wing of the hospital to be reunited with baby Kerry – named after her late grandmother – only to find the cot empty. With both Stingray and Teresa having motives to take the child, and both missing, a police search got underway. Teresa was soon found nearby, pushing a pram, which was found to be empty. She was taken into police custody to face the consequences of her actions, causing a rift in the Cammeniti family, as Teresa’s father, Raimondo, took revenge on Carmella’s father, Rocco, by destroying his business.

Episodes Featured
5060, 5064, 5069, 5072, 5078, 5079, 5082, 5083, 5086, 5087, 5088

Biography by Steve

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